Devotional Thoughts

Mark 7:25-28   "For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:  (26)  The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.  (27)  But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.  (28)  And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs." I sit here ready to type, not knowing exactly what I want to say. I hear a siren in the distance. The weather report is on and I hear of so many communities and people who have been affected by the storms that ripped through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, and back into South Georgia through the night and this morning. I find myself praying for families that have experienced a loss of life and loss of homes. I try to pra...

Read the Word Believingly As we read the Word of God, if we do not believe that it is divinely inspired, if we do not believe that it is the true Word of God Himself, then it will profit little.  If you do not believe that God loved you enough to have a relationship with you through His Spirit and His Word, then the love letter we call the Bible will fall flat.  This applies to reading the Word, but as well it applies to hearing the Word read, taught, or preached. A passage that calls us to a personal devotional reading of God’s Word is 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “ All Scripture  is  given by inspiration of God, and  is  profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,    that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”   This passage tells us in very clear language that what we have in our hands is THE WORD OF GOD and that it will reveal what we need to know...

Mark 7:24   "And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid." "He could not be hid." What a wonderful statement to be made by Mark. If I did not say it at the beginning, I will say it now, Mark is one of my favorite accounts of the Gospel. Maybe because of the way he says things, or the quickness with which he gets to his point. I should probably strive to be more like him. But at the same time, if I am not paying attention while reading Mark, I will miss something very important. On more than one occasion after performing a miracle, Jesus would tell the person, "See that no man know it." In my thoughts, Jesus is fulfilling the prophecy concerning Himself from Isaiah 42:2, "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street." Jesus never drew attention to Himself. In fact, in all things, He glorified the Father...

Mark 7:5-7    "Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?  (6)  He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.  (7)  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." I try to condense the verses in order to save space. (Some may say that I am not very successful at saving space) I encourage each one to read the verses surrounding the passages I use. Jesus and His disciples had just been to the desert land and crossed back over to the land of Gennesaret. They had been surrounded by people with needs. Jesus had healed many. They had fed the multitude with five loaves and two small fishes. They had endured the contrary wind on the sea of Galilee. Then they were once again surrounded by a multitud...